I stand dressed in my smartest suit in front of the most prominent New York media members. ESPN are televising live. The whole country, hell the whole world is watching. The New Jersey Nets were moving to Brooklyn and just a few days before had sacked the previous GM. In his place stood me, ready to begin the biggest job of my career. Then I realise just how tough New York will be to handle when I hear the first question...

"Who are you exactly?"

The truth is it is a fair question. I have no basketball experience beyond being a big fan. Me and Prokharov go way back. When he let Billy King go, his first phone call was to me. He said he wants someone he knows, someone he trusts to run his club in it's new guise. He knew my basketball knowledge was high, as were my buisness skills. Didn't make it any less shocking though. Now being here in front of the New York media i'm almost silenced in awe of what i've become.

I'm the GM of the Brooklyn Nets...

I have had many conversations with Mikhail before but this one was a bit different. This was my first as his employee. I know the man has expectations but I also know he will trust me and give me some rope to play with.

Prokharov: How are you settling into the role?

Me: Great, I have met the players and staff and feel pretty happy with how things have gone so far.

Prokharov: Have you gotten anywhere in assesing how things might be this year?

Me: Yes, honestly not great. I just don't see the talent in the team to make the playoffs. Even if we did sneak in to it, we would be bounced in the first round i'm sure.

Prokharov: I see. This is the first year in Brooklyn so it will be dissapointing not to make a good run. You know you have my cheque book if you need to make a splash in free agency?

Me: I know and I appreciate that but I don't like this years class of free agents if i'm honest. I think we need to save on cap space and go hard for next year. Dwight Howard want's to join this project and I think we need to make that happen.

Prokharov: That's great, so going back to this season what are your plans?

Me: I know you won't like the sound of it but I think we need to sign scrubs to 1 year contracts, keep the cap space free and get a lottery pick in the draft. We can get ourselves a great young star, keep space open for Howard and possibly another big name free agent. Of course we also need to re-sign Deron Williams but in my early talks he seemed extremely keen

Prokharov: Ok if this is what you think is best then fine. Be warned though, if you fail to deliver on the big name free agents next year I won't have a lot of choices.

Me: I understand, thank you Mikhail.

Phew...I survived

Coach Hire

I have decided not to make any changes to the coaching staff at this point. With a tough year ahead, i'm seriously considering using this as an excuse to get rid of Johnson at the end of year in favour of a bigger name. Some may think this is a bit underhanded but I feel it will be in the interest of the organization.

Rookie Workouts

I am working out the top 15 projected rookies. I have no 1st round picks and do not plan on keeping my 2nd round pick. This draft will be active for us only in trades. My reason for looking at the top 15 is purely to get a better understanding of how good they make our opponents going into the season.

My main aim in the draft is to pick up first round picks for 2013. My aim is to have 3 lottery picks for next year to go with our big free agent ambitions.

2012 NBA Draft

Before the draft my plans are seriously tested when Cleveland offer me their 4th overall pick for Marshon Brooks. I wanted to stack up for next year but this I can't resist. I gladly accept their offer.

Top 10 Picks


1. New Orleans - Anthony Davis PF
2. Charlotte - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist SF
3. Washington - Bradley Beal SG
4. Brooklyn - Thomas Robinson PF
5. Sacremento - John Henson PF
6. Portland - Andre Drummond C
7. Golden State - Harrison Barnes SF
8. Toronto - Dion Waiters SG
9. Detroit - Meyers Leonard C
10. New Orleans - Damian Lillard

Brooklyn Trades

BKL Get: 2012 1st Round Pick (#4)
CLE Get: Marshon Brooks

BKL Get: 2013 1st Round Pick, Demar Derozan
TOR Get: 2014 1st Round Pick, 2012 2nd Round Pick (#57), Jordan Farmar

Thomas Robinson

It was a very tough choice of who I could take. Andre Drummond seemed the unanimous choice for best player on the board. My scouts and WSSN both had him ranked a 5. My plans to bring in Dwight Howard however meant this was a no go. Robinson though was also ranked at 5 by both my scouts and WSSN. So I feel we have a great player for many years to come.

Hey, good start. Looking forward to see how you develop Brooklyn.

Summer League

The Roster Members going to Summer League are;

Demar Derozan - SG
Thomas Robinson - PF

Invited Members;

Jeremy Lin - PG
Chris Douglas Roberts - SF
Hasheem Thabeet - C
Derrick Caracter - PF
Lance Stephenson - SF
Terico White - PG
Dionte Christmas - SG
Solomon Alabai - C
Jimmy Baron - PG
Alade Aminu - PF

Summer League Record - 4-1
Top Performer: Jeremy Lin (22.6 PPG, 8.4 APG)

Very nice post. A fun read........................................Z

Day 1 -4

No action anywhere in the league but I have submitted offers to the guys I want this season. No one except Deron Williams has been offered more than a 1 year contract. I have retained my right to match any offer for Brook Lopez but the reality is we wont match a multi year deal. If he comes back, it will be as a trade asset.

Day 5

James Posey (SF) - Signs for the Brooklyn Nets on a 1 year deal

Day 6

Tim Duncan (C) - Re-signs with the San Antonio Spurs on a 1 year deal
Jason Kidd (PG) - Signs with the Atlanta Hawks on a 1 year deal

Day 7

Deron Williams (PG) - Signs with the Brooklyn Nets on a 5 year deal ($15mil/year)
Kevin Garnett (PF) - Signs with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a 1 year deal
Derek Fisher (PG) - Signs with the Dallas Mavericks on a 1 year deal
Dajuan Summers (PF) - Signs with the Brooklyn Nets on a 1 year deal
Reggie Evans (PF) - Signs with the Brooklyn Nets on a 1 year deal
Lance Stephenson (SF) - Signs with the Brooklyn Nets on a 1 year deal
Eddy Curry (C) - Signs with the Brooklyn Nets on a 1 year deal

Day 8

Ray Allen (SG) - Signs with the Utah Jazz on a 1 year deal
Mike Bibby (PG) - Signs with the Brooklyn Nets on a 1 year deal

Day 9

Roy Hibbert (C) - Re-signs with the Indiana Pacers on a 5 year deal
Brook Lopez (C) - Signs for the Dallas Mavericks on a 4 year deal
Allen Iverson (PG) - Signs for the Brooklyn Nets on a 1 year deal

Day 10

Goran Dragic - Re-signs with the Houston Rockets on a 4 year deal
D.J Augustin - Signs with the New Orleans Hornets on a 3 year deal

Day 11

Jeremy Lin (PG) - Signs with the Portland Trailblazers on a 4 year deal

Day 12

Javale McGee (C) - Signs with the Boston Celtics on a 4 year deal
Gerald Wallace (SF) - Signs with the New Orleans Hornets on a 4 year deal

Day 13

Jason Terry (SG) - Signs with the Oklahoma City Thunder on a 2 year deal
Nicholas Batum (SF) - Signs with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a 4 year deal

Day 14

Steve Nash (PG) - Signs with the Los Angeles Lakers on a 1 year deal

Day 16

Kris Humphries (C) - Signs with the Miami Heat on a 3 year deal

Thanks for the comments guys. Had to pay out a bit more on Deron that I wanted as the Spurs were going hard for him and he was preffering their offer at one point.

Might look to trade my 1st rounder for 2013 as Thomas Robinson could be what pushes us into the playoff spot I kinda didnt want. Will see what happens. First month of the season will be up a bit later

Starters:

PG - Deron Williams
SG - Demar Derozan
SF - Anthony Morrow
PF - Thomas Robinson
C - Johan Petro

6 - James Posey
7 - Allen Iverson
8 - Reggie Evans
9 - DaJuan Summers
10 - Eddy Curry
11 - Mike Bibby
12 - Lance Stephenson

November 2012

Vs. Celtics - W 90-110
Vs. Knicks - L 102-84
@ Bobcats - L 88-100
vs. Warriors - L 92-65 - Demar Derozan suffers broken arm (31 days)
@ Wizards - L 81-96
@ Magic - L 84-90
vs. Timberwolves - L 101-93
@ Celtics - L 73-123
@ Bucks - L 90-128
vs. Thunder - L 126-98
@ Jazz - L 85-125
Vs. Suns - L 113-108
vs. Clippers - L 113-96
@ Hawks - L 95-106
vs. Magic - W 75-88

Month Record: 2-13
Overall Record: 2-13

Team Leaders

Points - Deron Williams 20.3/game
Assists - Deron Williams 9.2/game
Rebounds - Thomas Robinson 7.6/game
Blocks - Thomas Robinson 0.7/game
Steals - Deron Williams 1.5/game
Turnovers - Deron Williams 3.7/game

Trades

BKL Get: 2013 1st Round Pick
DET Get: 2015 1st Round Pick, 2013 Second Round Pick

GM Notes

If I wasn't such good friends with Mikhail I would be worried right now. Thankfully I warned him this would be the case and he understands it's part of the bigger plan. I am glad that I picked up Detroits 1st rounder. I think we should have 3 lottery picks for this year now. At least 2 im sure. The upcoming offseason has potential to be great, but first we need to get through this season.

December 2012

@ 76'ers - L 90-102
vs. Bulls - L 100-83
@ Bulls - L 91-101
@ Kings - L 110-99
@ Pistons - L 93-107
vs. Raptors - W 93-133
vs. Cavaliers - L 94-83
@ Cavaliers - W 86-80
vs. Heat - L 106-103
vs. Pacers - L 98-91
@ Heat - L 87-118
vs. Bucks - W 103-109
@ 76ers - L 79-110
@Timberwolves - L 101-122

Month Record: 3-11
Overall Record: 5-24

Team Leaders

Points - Deron Williams 22.0/game
Assists - Deron Williams 8.0/game
Rebounds - Thomas Robinson 8.7/game
Blocks - Thomas Robinson 0.9/game
Steals - Deron Williams 1.6/game
Turnovers - Deron Williams 3.2/game

Trades

POR get: Matt Bonner (PF)
SA Get: 2013 2nd Round Pick

MIL Get: Grevis Vasquez (PG)
NO Get: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (SF)

OKC Get: Jason Maxiell (PF), 2013 2nd Round Pick
ATL Get: Cole Aldrich (C) Thabo Sefolosha (SG)

POR Get: Bill Walker (SG), 2013 2nd Round Pick
NY Get: Wesley Matthews (SG)

ORL Get: Andre Miller (PG), 2013 2nd Round Pick
DEN Get: Glen Davis (PF)

CHA Get: Mike Dunleavy (SF)
MIL Get: 2013 2nd Round Pick

GM Notes

More of the same i'm afraid. Deron Williams is the one loan spark of excitement this team has right now. I gurantee that spark will ignite this offseason though and that is what is keeping me going through this hard time. Thomas Robinson could be doing a bit better defensively but he'll get there he is still young.

We of course also have Detroit and Toronto's draft picks for this year. They also are struggling which can only be good for us.

Detroit - 8-19
Toronto - 7-22

Ourselves and Toronto are the two worst teams in the NBA right now, and Detroit are 5th worst. So the draft and free agency look good right now.